Chapter 6: A Series of Tests
"…Hanawa…Haruno…Hashimoto…Hatake. Found it."
Tsunade pulled out a bulky, manila file folder labeled Hatake Kakashi out from the large file cabinet she was crouched in front of. She brushed off the dust and wasted no time searching through its contents, skimming over the yellowed pieces of parchment with her hazel orbs.
Now what can cause a seizure…?
She flipped through the countless pages, rapidly scanning them for any significant information.
I'm probably wasting my time looking through his documents…I bet Shizune probably has a good reason by now. I really shouldn't be doing this. It's useless to focus on the most unlikely things.
She turned the last page and clapped the folder shut, getting virtually nothing out of looking through his files.
But…what if he has some kind of weird genetic disorder? I've heard of seizures being passed through families before…
Tsunade neatly tucked Kakashi's folder back into its correct spot and in its place, she pulled out two older, even dustier ones.
Sakumo and Sayaka Hatake.
Setting Sayaka's much bulkier folder onto the floor, Tsunade gently opened Sakumo's, a feeling of sadness settling around her. The hokage could proudly say that she had been friends with Sakumo Hatake, although she hadn't really know his wife. They were ninja of the same caliber, except Tsunade was slightly more famous than the White Fang, being a legendary Sannin and all.
It had struck her hard when he commit suicide. While she was coping with her own grief after losing Dan, she'd completely ignored him, never once coming to him to make sure he was alright. It was only after she attended his funeral that she realized how deeply he had sunken into a depression.
Pushing the unwanted feelings back into the deepest part of her mind, Tsunade opened the folder and started sifting through the contents.
Tsunade sighed and shut Sakumo's binder. It didn't have anything that could give her proof of a genetic disorder. Well, at least that made it more likely that Shizune would find something before she did, which would make whatever caused Kakashi's seizure easier to fix. After putting Sakumo's papers back into their designated place, Tsunade picked up his wife's and began inspecting the bulk of documents that made it up.
With the help of a bold word written on the top of the first page, it came to her attention that Sayaka was no longer alive. Deceased, is what it read exactly.
She's dead…I've always wondered what happened to her…
A shiny, black piece of paper slipped out of the binder and slid to the floor. Tsunade picked it up, recognizing what it was all too well.
An MRI scan?
She gazed upon the paper, her eyes widening as she realized what it meant. It was a scan of someone's brain. Sayaka's brain. And invading its tissues was a mass the size of an orange.
A brain tumor…
Tsunade studied the papers with a newfound interest. With a tumor that big, it was possible that Sayaka hadn't been killed in action like she had previously assumed.
Craniotomy to remove tumor in right temporal lobe…six weeks of radiation and combined chemotherapy…died of recurring tumor…
To sum it up, her suspicions had been confirmed. Kakashi's mother had passed away due to brain cancer.
Tsunade trudged down the hallway, pausing outside of the copy ninja's hospital room.
I bet it's nothing…
She softly opened the door and entered, finding Shizune sitting by Kakashi's bed, lost in her own thoughts.
"Shizune." The hokage's apprentice shot out of her hard plastic chair to face the hokage.
"Yes, milady!"
"What did you find?" Tsunade asked coolly, hiding her anxiety.
"He doesn't have any injuries. His blood tests were normal," she started timidly.
"What? So you're saying there's nothing wrong at all?" Tsunade asked sternly. She had expected Shizune to tell her something.
"Well, there is one thing. When I was examining Kakashi's head with my chakra, I found that there was a rise in intracranial pressure…"
That can happen when someone has a…No, Kakashi does not have a brain tumor. It's highly unlikely…
"How are we going to treat it, Lady Tsunade? If we don't, this can become dangerous-"
"As soon as he's conscious, get an MRI done," Tsunade uttered defeatedly, her gaze directed on the floor, "Shizune…did he have any bleeding in the brain?"
"No, Lady Tsunade."
"Is there anything else that you would like to tell me? Anything Important?"
"No, there is not. Lady Tsunade…Is there something wrong?" Tsunade looked up suddenly, surprised that her apprentice was asking such a question.
"...Kakashi's mother…She had brain cancer," The hokage said softly. Shizune's eyes widened in realization.
"But that doesn't mean that he has it…" she told her teacher, trying to reassure her that Kakashi was fine. The hokage just spun on her heel, heading for the door. Before leaving though, she looked back at her apprentice, hand on the door knob.
"Just do the MRI tomorrow nonetheless. There's only so much that we can detect with medical ninjutsu."
"Good Morning, Kakashi!" Shizune said happily, a tray of breakfast in her hands.
Kakashi rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up, grunting in pain. Frankly, he felt as if he had been run over by a truck. The medical nin handed Kakashi the tray and fluffed the pillows behind him, allowing him to lean back.
"Take it easy. Don't exert yourself too much," Shizune told him, the doctor in her rising to the surface, "Now eat your breakfast. If I'm what's stopping you, then I'll go…"
Shizune wasn't an idiot; she knew that to eat, he needed to take his mask off. The medical nin wanted to stay there and explain to him what had happened yesterday, and what they were going to do about it today, but if she was preventing him from consuming a fulfilling breakfast, then she would gladly take her leave.
"No…you can stay," he croaked after a few moments of pondering silence. Kakashi didn't remember much from the past day, but he did recall the soft touch of her soothing arm, and how she had stayed by his side to provide him with comfort. Kakashi appreciated that even when Shizune had taken his mask off, she didn't take advantage of his vulnerability.
Her eyes widened in surprise, but she ended up beaming at him. He gave a small, crinkle-eyed smile in return. Kakashi eyed his hearty breakfast of rice porridge, miso soup, and fluffy rolled omelette, for once actually feeling hungry. After surviving on IV fluids for two whole days, who could blame him?
Succumbing to the needs of his stomach, he hesitantly pulled off his mask and picked up his chopsticks, raising his hands in a small thanks. Shizune watched him eat, her lips turning up into an amused smile as he picked up his pace after the first bite, practically inhaling the rest of the meal.
"So…I see I'm still here," Kakashi said, setting down his chopsticks and pulling his mask back up, a hand resting on his contented stomach.
"We couldn't just let you leave. You had a seizure yesterday. A grand mal seizure, to be exact," Shizune told him grimly.
"Why did I have a seizure?" the copy nin asked, his brows furrowing in the same confusion he had felt yesterday. He hated that something was happening to him, and he didn't know what it was.
"It's hard to say, honestly; there could be multiple reasons. To rule one of them out, you're going to have an MRI scan in a little bit," Shizune explained professionally, leaving out the part where they had tested him for all of the common things that could've caused it, and in the end, came up with no sufficient explanation.
"…an MRI scan? Shouldn't you have done all the normal tests on me first? Why jump straight to that?" he inquired skeptically, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Shizune sighed. Of course he would ask that, being the copy ninja and all.
"Fine, then. The truth is…we've already performed all of the "normal" tests on you, and they don't reveal anything. That's why Lady Tsunade ordered an MRI scan…"
"And this reason you wanted to rule out? Is it something…serious?" Shizune shifted uncomfortably.
"We're doing the MRI scan…to make sure you don't have any brain tumors." Kakashi's eyes widened considerably in shock.
"Look, none of us can afford to think like that. And it's actually very unlikely that you have any," she reassured him. He relaxed a bit, although the anxiety still hovered over him.
"When do I have to do it, then?"
"One of the nurses will take you there when it's time," she explained to him.
"Wait, why can't you take me there?" He didn't want to go with some random nurse. At least he knew who Shizune was.
"Sorry, but that's not possible; I'm your radiologist," she chuckled, her eyes creasing as she smiled, "Well, I need to go and prepare the machine. Make sure you take off all jewelry, body piercings, and similar 'metallic items' beforehand."
Shizune got up, her back facing him as she headed toward the door.
"Ja ne." She gave a small wave behind her, the door flapping shut after she left.
"It's time for the MRI, sir!" A nurse said from the doorway. She was fairly short in comparison to him, her appearance almost childlike, even though she was blatantly a woman. Short brown locks framed the sides of her cheery, round face, and her shiny irises looked at him expectantly.
Kakashi snapped his book shut and set it on his bedside table, before yanking off the comforter and sliding his legs over the side. He got up with a grunt, his body still painfully sore from the aftermath of the seizure.
"Would you like a wheelchair, sir?" the nurse asked nervously, noticing how difficult it was for him to even stand.
"No, I can walk," he said abruptly. The nurse nodded and handed him a pair of long, cozy socks with grips on the bottom so that he could make the short trip without dirtying his feet. Although he wished for his actual shoes, he didn't argue and quickly pulled them on.
This was the first time in two days that he had ventured outside of the hospital room. He didn't really need to leave anyway; it had an attached bathroom and shower, so he was able to do all his "business" in peace.
They made most of the trip in awkward silence, the nurse leading the way and Kakashi silently trudging behind her. To get to the radiology room, they had to take the elevator to the second floor and walk through the oncology ward, and it was getting pretty uncomfortable since Kakashi refused to make proper conversation with her.
"So how old are you?" The nurse asked him playfully, falling into step with him.
"Hasn't anyone told you that it's rude to ask people their ages?" he replied flippantly, his lidded eyes gazing forward.
"Okay, sorry. What's your name, then?" she inquired with a grin.
"Kakashi…" he uttered dully, not even bothering to mention his surname.
"My name's Kotomi Hagiwara!" she told him excitedly, reaching out to shake his hand. He stood there for a few moments before stiffly taking her hand and shaking it softly, out of kindness. She quickly retracted it and turned away, her cheeks dusted a shade of pink.
"Say…are you single?"
He mentally cringed at her question, eyes widening.
Ew...Is she flirting with me? What am I supposed to say?!
"Er…Yes?" he answered reluctantly. She giggled and looked him over, blushing an even deeper shade of red.
Geez, what a pervert… he thought with an uneasy shiver. The thin, blue gown that he was still wearing ended right above his knees, so it exposed his pale, shapely calves, which made the situation even more uncomfortable.
God, where are my clothes when I need them?
"Can we hurry up, please?" Kakashi prompted sternly. She perked up and started to their destination, not bothering him with any more questions.
Soon, they arrived at the destined door. Kotomi opened it and let Kakashi walk in before entering herself. The room was cold and dim lit, a huge, cylindrical machine, with a moveable bed pulled out of it, sitting right in the middle. On the left, there was a separated space with a tinted window, so Kakashi could not see that Shizune was inside of the room until she herself came to greet them.
"Well, you're finally here. I hope Kotomi didn't bother you too much," Shizune chuckled, earning a glare from the said nurse.
"Ah…she didn't…"
Yup, she annoyed the hell out of me.
"We should get started. You can leave, Kotomi. I'll take it from here." After giving Shizune a short nod, the petite nurse left the MRI room, shutting the door behind her.
Shizune strolled over to a small cabinet in the far corner and took out a syringe, pulling on a pair of vinyl gloves before heading back to the silver-haired shinobi.
"I need to inject you with this. It'll make the images come out better," she explained in layman's terms, gesturing for him to sit down on the examination table. He plopped down and extended a pale arm, giving her permission to do as she pleased. Kakashi felt a cool sensation spread around the spot where she administered the liquid.
"Lie down on the bed," she prompted, after disposing of the used needle. Kakashi eyed the bed—board, rather—in distaste. It looked more like a table, one that surgeries are performed on.
He silently complied, and with Shizune's help, he was able to situate his head in the rather uncomfortable head cage. The hokage's assistant stuffed two, small pillows by either side of his head, explaining that the sounds made by the MRI might get too loud.
"If you get too uncomfortable, just press this button. And if you want to talk, don't hesitate; we'll be able to hear," she explained to him, handing him the call button. Shizune spread a thick blanket over his legs, before raising the bed with a small button on the machine's front. Finally, she slid the table into the cramped tunnel. The only part of his body sticking out of the cocoon were the tips of his feet.
"You good?" Shizune asked, peeking into the machine once she was finished positioning him inside of it. He realized that he couldn't nod because of how stuffed his head was under the head cage and between the two pillows.
"Yeah…" Kakashi mumbled numbly. The kunoichi headed back to the separated room, shutting the door behind her.
It was only when she disappeared from his limited line of vision did he realize how alone he was in the cramped tunnel. And how claustrophobic he was getting.
The narrow walls and low ceiling stifled all of his movement, so all he could do was lay there as stiff as a board, his hands glued to his sides. The only noise he could hear amidst all of the silence was the dull sound of whirring fans; the source of the cooling system. Kakashi's wide orbs gazed up at the suffocating ceiling through the bars of his head cage, the harsh white light mercilessly glaring right back at him. A lone trickle of cold sweat dribbled down his forehead; he didn't dare raise a hand to try and brush it away.
"Hello, hello, testing one two three, this is Shizune, over. Are you there, Kakashi?" Shizune's playful voice crackled over the intercom, breaking the stifling silence.
"I-I'm here," he stammered after a few moments, releasing a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. The fear and nervousness was evident in his shaky voice.
"Are you okay to start now? If you want out, don't hesitate to tell me, because I'll be able to hear through the microphones. It's your call," she said softly.
"R-ready…"
"Alrighty, then. Just hold still, Kakashi." Through the camera on her many computer screens, Shizune watched him tremble, his eyes wide and scared.
I'd never thought I would see Kakashi like this…
I'm trying, Kakashi thought, unable to quench his irrational fear. As a renowned ninja, he had experienced torture and bloodshed without even breaking a sweat, so he didn't understand why he was getting so worked up over a petty scan.
"Close your eyes. Think about happy things," she told the copy ninja cheerfully, trying to infect him with her joyful attitude.
He shut his eyes tightly, gripping the blankets he was provided with as if his life depended on it. When Kakashi was still enough, Shizune progressed with the MRI. His eyes shot open at the sudden, high pitched squeal that rang around him.
"Sorry about that, it's just the scan. You'll have to live through it."
The noise lasted for another few minutes, before it died down, leaving the constant, dull whirring of the fans in its place. In the small room on the left of the machine, Shizune sat in front of her computer screen, the image formulating before her very eyes.
The picture was one of the side of his head. It was fairly normal, pretty much how the standard brain was supposed to look, with its wrinkly tissue and nice, round shape. The only thing that puzzled her was the abnormal looking mass that invaded it.
Shizune frowned and leaned into the screen, her brows furrowed at the aberration. She closed her eyes and rubbed them vigorously, hoping that she was just seeing things.
A…tumor? No…It could be a shadow…
She ran the scan several more times, trying it from various angles. It was all for naught; the same, blasted smudge was still there.
"Shizune…Are you almost done?" a deep, scratchy voice called out. After laying in the machine for nearly an hour, Kakashi wasn't too claustrophobic anymore; he was just starting to get a bit tired of hearing the same high pitched noise every time the hokage's apprentice ran the scan.
"Yeah…I'll get you out of there…" she whispered. Shizune shakily got up from her seat in front of the computers, her legs stiff and numb. She opened the door and trudged out to the machine, gulping down a sob.
The kunoichi numbly rolled the bed out and helped him out of the head cage, almost as if she was in a trance. He pushed the blankets off of his legs, palms sweaty from clenching them so hard. Even as Kakashi slipped off of the table, Shizune didn't look him in the eye.
"Uh…Shizune? When are we leaving?" he asked expectantly, an eyebrow arched at her shadowed face.
"Y-yeah, I guess we should leave now."
What's up with her? Kakashi thought curiously.
Shizune led him back to his hospital room, her eyes downcast and hidden from view, where he continued to read his several make out paradise books, just like he was doing before.
Authors Note: Big surprise, wasn't it? I bet you can guess what'll happen next...Reviews are appreciated!
